When Tuners Attack The Peak

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From The Circuit To The Mountain

Just a few days ago we brought you a story about a very cool Subaru BRZ street car from the Northeast US, and in that post I mentioned the widespread passion that’s surrounded the Scion/Subaru twins since their respective launches three years ago. Now it’s time to follow up that story with an example that’s been built to do something entirely different.

I’m talking about the Mackin Industries Scion FR-S, which was among the huge variety of vehicles competing in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb this year. But this car wasn’t built to attack the mountain from the beginning.

Being the official importer of RAYS wheels and other high-end Japanese tuning parts to the US, Mackin is a name that most of you will be familiar with. The company has put together numerous demo machines over the years, and for the 2013 SEMA Show it debuted a Scion FR-S time attack car.

It had a Rocket Bunny kit, a 2.1-liter stroker motor with a GReddy turbo kit putting 380 horsepower to the wheels, and a number of other circuit-spec upgrades. After being shown at SEMA, the FR-S quickly made its way to the track where it joined the ranks of the time attackers.

The car was entered in a few different events and it did well, but its weak point became quite apparent. The transmission was just too fragile for the power level, and the Mackin team were blowing one or two gearboxes every time it headed to the track.

While contemplating what could be done to make the drivetrain stronger and the car more reliable, a very special opportunity presented itself. The chance to enter the FR-S in the legendary Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

It would be an ambitious project for the Mackin team, and by the time everything was approved there were just two months left before the event. Preparing a car for time attack is one thing, but Pikes Peak would be a whole new monster. The guys would have their work cut out for them.

Crunch Time

The first order of business was to figure out the transmission situation. If the old gearbox was blowing up at time attack events, it certainly wouldn’t be up to task on the grueling hill climb. The guys considered budget, durability and availability of parts as they searched for a transmission that would work.

They ended up going with a brand new Z33 6-speed, which can be sourced from any Nissan dealership. The gearbox is mated to the boxer engine with a custom bell-housing adaptor from Aasco, and the gearbox swap was supplemented with a custom flywheel, Tilton clutch and a custom driveshaft. The talented guys at Evasive Motorsports handled the transmission tunnel modifications to fit the new gearbox.

The next thing to address was the car’s safety equipment, specifically to ensure it conformed with the stricter regulations for vehicles competing at Pikes Peak.

One big area that would need to be upgraded was the fuel storage and delivery system. The FR-S was brought up to spec with a 12-gallon ATL Well Cell and three AEM pumps supplying 2,000cc injectors. It might sound like overkill, but with so many hairpin corners and Pikes Peak’s high altitude, the team didn’t want starvation to be an issue.

The thin air of Pikes Peak is also notorious for robbing power, so the guys needed to extract some additional thrust from the turbocharged flat-four. GReddy USA modified the existing turbo kit to accept a larger Garrett GTX3076R turbine, and then it was time to find an engine management system able to stand up to the rigors of the unique event.

Nate Tasukon from TunedbyN8 upgraded the management setup with a MoTeC M150 and C165 dash unit, then hit the dyno at Evasive Motorsports to dial everything in. With the larger turbo and improved electronics, the car put down 479 horsepower and 364 pound feet of torque at 24 pounds of boost.

Cooling would also be massively important during the long run up the mountain, so the guys did a V-mount setup for the GReddy intercooler, fitted a big Koyo aluminum radiator and a Davies Craig electric water pump. They also installed a massive oil cooler, coolers for the transmission and differential, and a water sprayer system for added insurance.

Other final additions before the event included dry carbon doors and Lexan windows, a larger front splitter and custom vented hood to shed additional weight and further improve the aerodynamics.

With no time left to spare, the FR-S underwent a quick test session in Southern California before being shipped off to Colorado for the big event.

Attacking The Hill

Initial testing at Pikes Peak International Raceway brought mixed results. When driver Robert Walker strapped in behind the wheel the car was running well, but soon small problems began to appear. Smoke from the turbo, minor parts failures and other gremlins kept the small crew of mechanics working through the nights to ensure the car was ready for the following day’s action.

The turbo was still having issues blowing oil from the seals when it came time for the car’s run up the mountain, but with no spare parts left there was nothing the team could do but watch and hope that everything held up. Rob jumped in the car, ready to attack the world-famous stretch of road.

Having put in a conservative qualifying run, the team had secured a 21st starting position, which fortunately meant dry weather conditions. With a fresh set of dry-weather Toyo Proxes RRs mounted up, Rob launched the car off the line and headed for the summit.

As Rob made his way up the hill, the rest of the crew watched the monitors closely, waiting for the sector times to pop up. First the FR-S set a new quick time through sector one, and then did the same for sector two which put it in third position in its class.

The third and final sector times from the 12.42-mile course never came though. Given the high danger that comes at Pikes Peak, the guys began to worry.

A few moments later, they heard from the officials that the FR-S had pulled off course safely, news which was met with great relief. Rob then radioed in saying that the car was only a few corners from the finish line when the engine shut down and started smoking.

Although they were disappointed with the result, everyone was happy the car and more importantly Rob were okay. Using the sector times from practice, they figured if they had completed the course they would have come home with a podium finish. But there was no time to dwell on the past.

It turns out something had failed in cylinder number one, but the guys haven’t even bothered tearing the motor down yet. That’s because there’s another plan in store – one that involves a fully-built 800 horsepower 2JZ swap.

We’ve been told the fully revamped FR-S will make its debut in November at the SEMA Show, and soon after that we expect preparations begin to attack Pikes Peak once more.

Comments

36 comments

Awesome cars, looks incredible. I find it very strange they want to go with a 2jz swap in a time attack car, yea good power/torque/reliability but so much heavier and longer which will make it a very front heavy car. I'm no engineer mind you but this does seem strange.

Really nice looking race car, but I really hope they will change the rules for the safety of these cars before someone gets badly hurt. The cages in time attack cars like this one are totally inadequate for a rally style course. There was even much worse examples than this car with ridiculous bolt in cages.

Really nice looking race car, but I really hope they will change the rules for the safety of these cars before someone gets badly hurt. The cages in time attack cars like this one are totally inadequate for a rally style course. There was even much worse examples than this car with ridiculous bolt in cages.

Great car, and better pictures thanks to the Dynamic (SH)Duo, Lin and Larry. I'd like to see an article with "Pictures by Linhbergh Nguyen and Larry Chen", but don't label the shots, have a test at the end that us readers can take to guess who took what In fact, I'd love to see a monthly head-to-head photo battle!

Great car, and better pictures thanks to the Dynamic (SH)Duo, Lin and Larry. I'd like to see an article with "Pictures by Linhbergh Nguyen and Larry Chen", but don't label the shots, have a test at the end that us readers can take to guess who took what In fact, I'd love to see a monthly head-to-head photo battle!

380hp and it was destroying 1 or 2 gear boxes? To me that seems like a weak gearbox. I am not saying it should withstand 1,000hp or anything like that but only 380hp?why not build these cars with STi gearboxes? those things are way stronger.

380hp and it was destroying 1 or 2 gear boxes? To me that seems like a weak gearbox. I am not saying it should withstand 1,000hp or anything like that but only 380hp?why not build these cars with STi gearboxes? those things are way stronger.

Because any Subaru owner will tell you that the boxes in them are made of glass. I have seen many a STI gearbox nuke itself behind not much power (350hp). You might as well put a supra or skyline box in it.

Hanma Gary89 Not sure about the length, and number of bends on the Pikes Peak, but 2Js aren't the most ideal for shorter courses, and battling power surges when the gigantic turbo kicks in the middel of a narrow corner, isn't time saving at all.

JonathanW Vittorio Jano No it's not about nascar bars. They are a stupid concept anyway as the door should be a crumple zone and not full of tube.. Basically there should just be more cage in there. This cage is a bare minimum for track work. Check out homologated cages for Evos and Subarus or any WRC car and you should get the point. There was one Evo that crashed in Pikes Peak and the cage gave up pretty badly. Track cars are rarely designed to fly off a mountain and land upside down on a rock, but rally cars are.

Vittorio Jano The cage was built to the required specs - including material specifications, tube thicknesses to pass PPIHC safety inspections. They were very thorough and considering the inherent danger of the event - Passing their tech means that there is confidence in the safety and performance of the car before it attempts to climb thanks.

Gary89 Lots of reasons - 1st is to keep the power upgrades in the Scion / Toyota family - the length we can get around, but the weight will be the challenge - We'll work with some great folks to help us achieve some great performance thanks!

Yea sure will be a interesting build with the 2j, I know back in the 90's in jgtc the supra gt500 cars swapped out their 2j's for 3sgte's to better the cars weight distribution and because they could fit it further back in the engine bay making its turn in better. Of course they were restricted to 500hp though so going 800+ I'm sure you would encounter serious lag keeping the fa20. I wonder what the weight difference between a 1uz and 2j would be and weather it's a more viable option for a all out time attack car? Anyways I love the car, I'm sure you guys know exactly what you doing, will look forward to the finished car for sure.

Yea sure will be a interesting build with the 2j, I know back in the 90's in jgtc the supra gt500 cars swapped out their 2j's for 3sgte's to better the cars weight distribution and because they could fit it further back in the engine bay making its turn in better. Of course they were restricted to 500hp though so going 800+ I'm sure you would encounter serious lag keeping the fa20. I wonder what the weight difference between a 1uz and 2j would be and weather it's a more viable option for a all out time attack car? Anyways I love the car, I'm sure you guys know exactly what you doing, will look forward to the finished car for sure.

Gary89 Yes you're right - the really old JGTC Supras were running 3SG motors back in the day (1990's) now GT cars are running all kinds of motors - V8's, Inline, etc... We have to keep in mind alot of issues - Budget, transmission Gearing, tuning, etc.. to name a few things - Stay tuned - we'll do our best and hopefully we can bring a trophy home soon! Thank you!

Gary89 Yes you're right - the really old JGTC Supras were running 3SG motors back in the day (1990's) now GT cars are running all kinds of motors - V8's, Inline, etc... We have to keep in mind alot of issues - Budget, transmission Gearing, tuning, etc.. to name a few things - Stay tuned - we'll do our best and hopefully we can bring a trophy home soon! Thank you!

What happened that a rebuild just isn't in order? It looks like a compressive build to throw the idea away and start again with a 2jz, or do you have a buyer for this motor and a built 2jz laying around?What fuel do you use to run 24psi and 11.5:1 comp?

What happened that a rebuild just isn't in order? It looks like a compressive build to throw the idea away and start again with a 2jz, or do you have a buyer for this motor and a built 2jz laying around?What fuel do you use to run 24psi and 11.5:1 comp?

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